Age of Change Chapters 12-15
Moving West Following Civil War need a change Search for opportunity Challenging Journey Limited Resources water, wood, food difficult to find
Miners Sutter s Mill finds gold in 1848 in California s Central Valley= Gold Rush 1849 Forty Niners flock from the east coast, Mexico, Europe, and Asia Very few find a lot of gold = the mother lode Merchants follow Stores, banks, saloons, restaurants Eventually companies move in Extensive damage to environment
Ranchers and Cowboys Cattle thrived on the grass of the Great Plains Began before Civil War; untended cattle multiplied during CW Vaqueros started cowboy customs Texans rounded cattle up and took it to market = lucrative Drive cattle to Kansas then shipped East to Chicago meatpacking district Cowboys lead rough lives Long days, sleep on ground, stampedes, attacks by Native Americans Open range closed as farmers migrated Barbed wire fencing Blizzards in 1886 & 1887 killed cattle Many ranchers forced into bankruptcy Others fence their herd and raise what their land will support
Railroads Railroad lines short before 1850s 1860s = expansion Gold Rush increased demand for travel west Want easier and faster way to move goods Transcontinental Railroad= coast to coast Challenges: money to start, Native Americans on the land, mountains Immigrants Hardships: ex-soldiers, former slaves, Irish, Asians harsh conditions; weather, long hours and dynamite Met at Promontory Point, Utah on May 10, 1869; travel from Atlantic to Pacific went form 4 months to 10 days Railroads became lifelines = charge excessive rates
Homesteaders Railroad expansion & railroad sells land Reduced threat of attacks by plains tribes Homestead Act (1862) 160 acres for a small fee to anyone willing to farm it for 5 years Fresh start Challenges: Few trees = shelter (soddies) Environment harsh Depending on the year Too wet, too dry, too cold, grasshoppers
African Americans After Civil War Left South in search of better lives = Exodusters Some became Cowboys or joined the Army Most became farmers However, still faced racism
Native Americans Shatter a way of life Nomadic tribes follow buffalo; eastern tribes displaced in West Buffalo population decimated Land confiscated move to reservations Only to be moved again if settlers wanted the land Assimilation policy = Americanized Apaches, Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapahos refuse to go to reservation & take fight Custer s Last Stand at Battle of Little Big Horn, 1876 Dawes Act, 1887: Tribes can t own land but rather individual ownership changing cornerstone of beliefs
Farmers Protest Worked hard, bought new machinery, increased production BUT, many failed to prosper To buy new machinery = loans with high interest Railroads increased shipping rates Crop prices dropped = supply and demand National Grange An organization to help farmers find their political voice Populism: political idea that favors common peoples interests over wealthy
Populism takes root Several states passed Granger Laws to regulate railroads Supreme Court ruled in Wabash and Pacific RR v. Illinois that the Federal Government regulates interstate commerce Congress said rates needed to be reasonable and just Populist Party or People s party 1892 populism includes industrial workers too Fad of a political party
New Inventions & Technology Late 1800s brought dramatic change US moved from an agricultural society to an industrial society Capitalism = system of economics based on the private ownership Inventors needed money Capitalist = a wealthy person who uses money to invest in trade and industry for profit Provided funds for railroads, factories, scientific research, supplies Patent = gives the inventor the sole right to make or sell a good for a specific period of time
Communication and Transportation Telegraph could send a message using Morse code Lines followed railroads, connected the coasts Telephone Alexander Graham Bell Automobile invented in Europe Airplane Orville and Wilbur Wright
Oil and Steel Rock Oil process of drilling for oil Big business = cheaper and easier to supply Bessemer Process new process for turning iron into steel Harder, stronger, lighter = taller buildings, longer bridges Light Bulb and Electricity Business stay open longer, change life at home too, electric appliances
Changing Workplace Using machines to produce parts = faster, unskilled, cheaper labor Frederick Taylor time-and-motion studies Use stop watch to time different ways to do a job= figure out fastest Faster = increased productivity and profits Henry Ford Assembly line Same task all day, over and over boring ALL THIS =increased productivity Cheaper goods Fewer workers
Growth of Business As business grows Need for factors of production grow Factors of Production land, labor, and capital Land still plenty Labor many immigrants Capital -any asset that can be used to produce income Money, buildings, tools, machinery Harder to come by
Growth of Business Small business owners needed more capital Formed corporations Company that is legally separate from the owners Sell stocks to raise capital Stock = a small share of the business Competition between corporations Great for consumers, BUT Lower prices for goods= harder to make money= many businesses went bankrupt How to survive? Limit competition
Eliminate the Competition Activity Devise a strategy to become and industry leader
Eliminate the Competition Buy or Bankrupt competitors Undercut prices, deals with railroads to save on shipping Monopolies formed company that completely dominates an industry Raise prices = higher profits Rockefeller s Standard Oil Trusts formed groups of companies that work together to prevent companies not in trust from competing in the market
Integration Horizontal = larger companies by owning as many of the SAME step within an industry as possible Own all the railroads Vertical = larger companies by owing as many steps in an industry as possible Own a coal mine, an iron mine, a steel factory, a steel refinery, and a shipping yard
Big Business New big businesses different than traditional companies size & profitability impersonal & profit driven owners rarely know workers responsive to investors entrepreneurs philanthropists
Government s Role in Business Most politicians favor laissez-faire policy the market through supply and demand will regulate itself Government Hands-off Social Darwinism = business is a matter of survival of the fittest strongest businesses naturally survive and prosper without involvement BUT Many Americans were concerned about the rapid growth of big business no chance for small business Sherman Antitrust Act passed outlawed trusts, monopolies, any form of business that restricted trade
The Gilded Age (looks like gold but only on the outside) Industrialists: Robber barons or captains of industry? Robber barons the way gained wealth ruthless, shady business practices that harm workers corrupted officials damage environment Captains of Industry hard workers took advantage of new technology and forms of business organization make companies more productive created millions of jobs improved working conditions over time philanthropic
Conditions of the Working Class Gilded Age Haves and Have nots Have nots = working class Did the hard work, but did not get rich Working Conditions long hours 6 days/week 10+ hrs/day little pay $1.00/day Repetitive, hazardous sweatshop = no ventilation toxic gasses, dust coal & cotton disease tuberculosis fire no workman s compensation protest= loss of job Child Labor As young a 6, small = squeeze in running machine
Living Conditions Slums Poor, overcrowded section of town Tenements Run-down apartment buildings Unsanitary Disease Hazardous Fire
Labor Movement - Unions Labor Unions Group of workers organized to protect the interest of members Goals Higher wages shorter hours better working conditions Union power = threat of strike Work stoppage
Labor Movement - Unions Employers undermine unions by: threatening to fine workers who join unions circulate blacklists a list of banned or undesirable people refuse to hire blacklisted workers Yellow-dog contracts Written pledge not to join a union hire scabs Someone willing to cross a picket line to work government sided with employers
Labor Movement - Strikes As unions gain strength workers more willing to strike Railroad Strike: 1877 Rail workers strike after railroad companies cut wages during a depression. President Hayes used federal troops to restore order and break the strike. Haymarket Affair, Chicago 1886 Workers fought with scabs. Police fired into the crowd trying to break up the fight. The next day, a peaceful protest was held in Haymarket Square where speakers addressed the crowd; police stormed into the meeting. Bomb thrown at police. 5 protesters and 7 police officers were dead and bomber never caught The nation was divided over the labor movement
Labor Movement - Strikes Homestead Strike, Pennsylvania 1892: Strike at Carnegie Steel Plant. Pinkerton agents hired to protect plant from strikers. Pinkerton agents gave up after a day-long gun battle with strikers. Strikers took control of the town until Henry Frick, an assistant to Carnegie brought in scabs to run the plant after governor called in state militia to disperse strikers. Pullman Strike, 1894: Workers at Pullman Palace Car (railroad car) factory went on strike after wages cut, but not rent and other charges. American Railway Union supported the strike. The strike interrupted delivery of the mail, President Cleveland sent in federal troops to break up the strike and after a violent encounter, strike collapsed
Mixed Successes for Unions Successes working hours decreased wages increased won recognition of workers rights Failures Fed government against unions Fed & state governments sent in troops or issued injunctions unions fail to gain support of US population